Very interesting statement, I'm surprised this hasnt been brought up on here before
An example: Safety Tulanoa Hufanga was a fifth round pick. Corner Robert Rochelle was a fourth round pick who had Jalen Ramsey type athleticism. Which player would you rather have?
Not the point. Hufanga is a good football player that is starting while we barely saw Rochelle in year two. Putting athleticism ahead of productive football hasn’t worked that well.Hufanga might be ineffective in a soft zone shell that Morris plays.
I like that they seem to emphasize "good football IQ". But yeah, too many projects. Go with good football IQ as a paramount, with production right behind, then "upside" and "athleticism" last.Not the point. Hufanga is a good football player that is starting while we barely saw Rochelle in year two. Putting athleticism ahead of productive football hasn’t worked that well.
Hufanga is an excellent box safety that can blitz well and tackle. He’s not the most effective player in coverage but he benefits from the Niners pass rush that protects the secondary. Put Tufanga on the Rams and he’s going to look a lot like Taylor Rapp. Put Rochelle on the Niners and he gets an immediate bump in play. Secondaries are rarely effective without a strong front seven supporting them.And that is one reason I feel that Snead is not a great talent evaluator. He seems to emphasize athletic metrics over on field talent. (Kupp and Fuller are outliers in this philosophy) Also it works for top talent, first round types like AD. But these raw, mid to late round athletes too often lack the football acumen to really produce. Often you don’t see much from them until year 3-4.
An example: Safety Tulanoa Hufanga was a fifth round pick. Corner Robert Rochelle was a fourth round pick who had Jalen Ramsey type athleticism. Which player would you rather have?
The point that I was making is the Niners evaluated and drafted a starter by year two, who was very productive and fit their scheme. The Rams drafted a raw fantasy that they felt could be the next Jalen Ramsey, but he hasn’t played much and doesn’t seem to know the position.Hufanga is an excellent box safety that can blitz well and tackle. He’s not the most effective player in coverage but he benefits from the Niners pass rush that protects the secondary. Put Tufanga on the Rams and he’s going to look a lot like Taylor Rapp. Put Rochelle on the Niners and he gets an immediate bump in play. Secondaries are rarely effective without a strong front seven supporting them.